Proceedings of the 4th Art of Record Production Conference 1 University of Massachusetts Lowell. 14th – 16th November 2008 Imogen Heap as Musical Cyborg: Renegotiations of Power, Gender and Sound Alexa Woloshyn Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Canada
[email protected] Abstract instruments, including cello, clarinet (Retka), and a “hilarious keyboard with boss-nova presets” (Gilbey 2005). Imogen Heap, British electronica artist, has had a Her first significant opportunity to experiment with successful solo and collaborative career since her 1998 electronic music technology was at the private boarding release of I Megaphone. She became a widespread name in school she attended as a young teenager. Heap clashed with 2004 after the song ‘Let Go’ from her collaborative album her music teacher, who punished her by sending her alone to with Guy Sigsworth, Details, was used in the film Garden a small room. Left in the room with an Atari computer, State. Following this success, Heap returned to solo work with Mac Classic 2 and Notator, and the large manual, Heap and released Speak for Yourself in 2005. Through an began to experiment and gained an interest in building her analysis of Heap’s musical development from her earliest own studio (Gilbey 2005). She formalized her training in musical experiences to her latest solo endeavors, this paper production at the BRIT school of Performing Arts & demonstrates Heap’s renegotiations of power, gender and Technology in Croyden, Surrey, from 1992 until 1995. sound allowed by the reconfigurations of institutional and In 1998, Heap released her first solo album I Megaphone commercial structures, which were enabled by the with Almo Sounds.